Baldur's Gate 3's Devora Wilde is okay with being typecast, especially if she gets to be "badass females"

I didn't like Lae'zel. The moment I met her, I decided 'nope.' In my first Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough, I didn't even recruit her to my party. In my second attempt, I sacrificed the traditional tank role so that I didn't have to deal with her. Then, in my third playthrough as a woefully underpowered ranger, I bit the bullet and accepted that, while I couldn't be bothered dealing with her complaining and sniping, I was really going to struggle without a fighter. On that 100-hour journey, however, I wound up falling in love with her. Shots were consistently fired, dreams were mercilessly shattered, but by the end of my time with one of the best RPGs of all time, I'd come to see Lae'zel for what she is: a beautifully written, complex character, brought to life perfectly by Devora Wilde.

Wilde's voice is instantly recognizable. While she trades out Lae'zel's signature growling for something a little less aggressive as Clea Dessendre in Expedition 33, I immediately clocked that it was her. Similarly, I saw her sneaky cameo in Split Fiction, and when the Solasta 2 release trailer premiered at The Game Awards, I knew exactly who she was.

But all of these characters are completely unique. Whether it's a smaller role or a bigger one, there aren't many echoes of Lae'zel, which I'd argue is a good thing. I ask Wilde if any studios have ever approached her and said 'replicate what you did in Baldur's Gate 3' - something fellow Faerûn alumni Samantha Béart claims they've suffered from.

"I'm going to speak for myself," she begins. "I audition for every role. I'm trying to think if someone's ever come up to me and offered me a role since Baldur's Gate 3. Maybe like, once? But we're still auditioning for these roles. Actually, for the most part, I think [auditioners] are trying to get away from Lae'zel, which I think is great.

"I guess I am being typecast as these very strong, badass females, and I'm not mad about that at all, by the way," she says with a grin. "There are so many different types of way you can play that character that the possibilities really are endless in terms of the voice, performance, and motion capture.

"Maybe [one day] I'd play a slightly more timid, different type of character, but right now [strong women] seem to be my casting, and I do love that. Certainly no one's asking me to replicate Lae'zel, which is as it should be. I'm looking to do new things, new characters, and take on new challenges as an actor."

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was one of those challenges, and while she "came on board the project a little later," her performance is no less impressive. I ask what it was like getting into Clea's headspace, and what it was like to watch the game explode.

"I remember Jen [Jennifer English] and Aliona [Baranova, Baldur's Gate 3 mocap director] saying to me 'this game is going to be huge.' I was like 'well, you know, I believe you but I don't like to jinx things!' Much like with Baldur's Gate 3, I went in with zero expectations - the script and the story was absolutely fantastic and just so heart wrenching; it had everything, really. But I was just like 'I'm going to do my bit, and let's see what happens when it comes out,' because you just never know. But it's just snowballed.

"I think, much like Baldur's Gate, it was one of those things that came out, people needed a little bit of time to play it and get to know the characters and stuff, and then the snowball went… (Wilde mimics the sound of a rolling snowball)."

"For my character, a lot of people didn't know I was Clea," she continues. "I didn't want to reveal too much at the beginning of the game, so I was like 'I'm in the game, see if you can find me!' Some people thought I was Sophie at the beginning, people were guessing. Then people realized I was Clea, and it got revealed. I love [the fact] that people didn't instantly know it was me because I like to be a chameleon." She puffs up her chest with playful pride.

"There's something fun about that - which one is she? Is she this one? Is she that one?" she laughs. "And, to me, that's a testament to the fact that I have done something very different to Lae'zel, which is arguably the most iconic character I've played so far."

But what's her dream character? We've seen Neil Newbon transform into a fish in Warframe, so I ask for her most outlandish fantasy pick.

"I'd love to play a mythical creature," she muses, prompting a giggle. "Such a challenge! Like any mythical creature - a unicorn? Or like a dragicorn? I just made that up, by the way, that's half-dragon half-unicorn, developers; that could be your next big hit. Or not.

"I don't even know where that came from!" she laughs. "I just kind of suddenly thought, 'wouldn't that be such a cool challenge to do that,' and voice it, act it, and do the performance and motion capture?" We then bat different versions of 'dragicorn' back and forth, and I can confirm we've filed a trademark. Baldur's Gate 4 developer, whoever you are, you've got our email addresses. Let's talk.